ABCs of SasuSaku
by StrawberryNova
Summary: A collection of short stories. Beware of fluffiness, it can jump out at any moment. Rated T for future reference, I have a habit of using foul language. OOC warning.
1. A is for Angst

A is for Angst

Sakura sat down, propped her head up on her elbows, and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Something wrong?" her blonde friend asked, sliding into the seat next to her.

Sakura looked up, "Ino, what do you think?"

Ino looked across the way at Sakura's husband, who was busy glaring at the man behind the register he stood at, and chuckled, "Still not angst-free?"

"You'd think I was a horrible wife or something!" Sakura cried, burying her head in her arms.

Ino rolled her eyes, _'Three…two…one.'_

"Oh my God, Ino!" Sakura cried louder, her head shooting up, "I'm a horrible wife!"

Ino sighed and patted her best friend on the back, using the tone often associated with obvious comforting, "No, you're not a horrible wife, Sakura. You just married the angstiest guy in the whole country."

A muffled sound came from the mussed pink head as Sakura giggled. Ino frowned, "What's so funny?"

Sakura lifted her head, amusement glinting in her eyes, "You just made up a word, Ino."

Ino blinked, "Did I? Which?"

"Angstiest."

"…That's not a word?"

"No, Ino!"

Ino snorted, "Well it is now."

Sakura sighed again, "What am I going to do about the angst? It's so…depressing."

"Well…you know, that must just be Sasuke's personality. I mean, think about it, if he weren't angsty, what would he be?" Ino questioned.

Sakura shrugged, "The exact opposite, I guess."

"And that would be…?"

Almost instantly an image of Sasuke prancing around in Naruto's clothing came to mind to both women's minds, "Oh God!"

Sakura looked over at Ino, "Did you just think what I thought?"

Ino's eyes widened, "You mean of Sasuke in…?"

"Yes! That's opposite!"

"Oh! No, he has to have blonde hair!"

"But he's naturally black-haired…"

"He'd bleach it!"

"No!"

"And pink! The outfit would be pink!"

"Oh dear, Ino, you're massacring my image of my husband!"

"I know!"

"Add a bow!"

"Yes! A purple one!"

They both stared at each other.

Sakura's eyes didn't waver, "So…think I can look at my husband now?"

Neither did Ino's, "He's coming, want to give it a try?"

"On three."

"One…"

"Two…"

They didn't make it to three.

xxx

Sasuke came back to the table to find the two women in tears. Bewildered, he set the food down and placed a hand on a sobbing Sakura's back, "Sakura? What happened?"

Sakura stopped momentarily, glanced up at him, and broke down again. Ino had not yet stopped.

It took Sasuke a few confused minutes to realize the choking sounds his wife and her friend were emitting were not, in fact, sobs, but uncontrollable laughter.

He grumbled to himself and sat in a chair, pulling the tomato salad towards him and digging in.

"Women…"


	2. B is for Bubbles

B is for Bubbles

"Where the hell is he?" Naruto shouted for the umpteenth time.

"I don't know," Sakura glared at Naruto, "and asking every two seconds doesn't make me know any more than I did in the first place!"

Frowning, Naruto turned to her, "it doesn't?"

"No!" she screamed at him, "so stop asking!"

Naruto nodded violently and clamped his mouth shut, then took a moment to get comfy on his rock, idly twiddling his thumbs and looking innocent. Sakura groaned and plopped down on the grassy ground, muttering to herself while Sasuke continued to stay silent and unnoticed, though no doubt he was thinking the same thing as Naruto.

Minutes passed by, slowly morphing into an hour.

"If he's not here in five minutes, I'm ditching," Sakura declared, propping herself up on her elbows.

"I second that," Naruto agreed.

They both turned to Sasuke, their faces questioning. He shrugged, "Yeah."

And in that moment, Kakashi poofed into view, "Yo!"

Silence met him. Confused, he searched the faces of his three students, particularly the blonde, only to find they were silently seething at him. He chuckled, "Sorry I'm late, but I have a surprise!"

Excitement instantly bloomed in Naruto's eyes, anger forgotten, whereas Sakura's became unconvinced. Sasuke's continued to show he was seething.

"What do you have for us, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Guess."

"Oh just tell us!"

Kakashi sweatdropped at Sakura's impatience and pulled three small tubes out of his pocket.

"…Bubbles?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yep, you're going to spend the day blowing bubbles while I take a nap."

Sakura and Sasuke stared at him, dumbfounded.

"That's it?"

"Yes, Sakura, that's it."

Before Sakura could start screaming at her sensei, Naruto bounded up and grabbed a vial from Kakashi's hand, squealing excitedly, "Sweet, I love bubbles!"

The anger Sakura had been feeling instantly deflated at Naruto's excitement, "Oh all right…gimme one."

xxx

Sakura watched as she swished the liquid in her tube, bored with the bubble-blowing. She sighed and turned her attention to Naruto, who had used one of his clones to blow the bubbles and was happily leaping and prancing through the shower of soapy orbs that erupted from the wand.

After a quiet laugh to herself, she stashed her half-full tube and looked around for Sasuke. She spotted him sitting under a tree, seemingly content with himself.

"Hmm…why's he not blowing bubbles?" She quietly questioned herself.

Curiosity quickly got the better of her and within minutes she was at approaching Sasuke. Upon closer inspection, she realized Sasuke was in fact blowing bubbles, just not to the same extent as Naruto. Stopping a few feet away, she watched him.

He blew the bubbles one by one, gazing in uncharacteristic awe at the tiny rainbows that danced across the slightly blue-tinted sphere.

Sasuke started when the bubble popped, spraying him with soap. Sakura couldn't help but giggle at the rare sight. Too late, as Sasuke turned his head towards the sound, she realized she had exposed herself.

She waved at him and he responded by turning his head away from her. Not knowing how to take the action, she walked over to him and sat down in front of him.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"…Hn?" he kept his head lowered, bangs covering his face.

"Do you like the bubbles?" she asked him, not realizing her voice was lowered and soft.

He looked up and she realized why he was holding his head down. Pink tinted his cheeks and his eyes were still wide from the bubbles.

"I-I think they're nice."

Sakura smiled, "The way you were looking at them, one might think you've never seen a bubble before."

Sasuke responded by lowering his head again.

Realization hit Sakura, "You've never blown bubbles before have you?"

He hesitated and then shook his head, "No."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Sakura smiling at him, "Don't worry, I won't tell Naruto."

Relief flooded through him, though only a tiny hint of it showed on his face, "thank you Sakura," he mumbled.

Silence passed by for a few minutes. Then Sakura decided to ask the question that was nagging her.

"Mind if I join you?"

He stared at her. She stared back.

They kept at it for what had seemed like a long time.

Finally, he nodded. Without further questioning, Sakura pulled out her vial and began blowing, Sasuke soon joined in. She taught him how to make the bubbles cluster, and he didn't protest to being taught. He merely accepted the lesson in silence.

xxx

"So, you guys have fun today?" Kakashi questioned his students.

"Yeah, we need to do that again sometime!" Naruto smiled; the empty tube at his feet. Sasuke and Sakura simply nodded.

With nothing more than a wave of the hand as a goodbye, their sensei vanished and the three set off, stopping to say their goodbyes only when reaching the split in the path.

"Bye, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme!"

"Bye Naruto," she waved at him, then turned to Sasuke and smiled, "goodbye Sasuke-kun."

He didn't appear to take notice at the goodbyes, until…

"T-Teme? What are you doing?" Naruto yelled, taking in the Uchiha's movement.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura blinked, a blush creeping up her neck as she realized her face was being buried into his chest.

"T-thanks…for today," he muttered quickly in her ear before releasing her from the hug and walking off in his respective direction, leaving Naruto to gape and Sakura to smile.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto questioned Sakura, who didn't reply.

She simply smiled, "I love bubbles."


	3. C is for Change

C is for Change

He watched in utter shock as his pink-haired teammate walked off, arm linked with another boy. Naruto stood beside him, his mouth gaping just as wide, if not wider than his.

"Sakura-chan just turned you down for a date…" Naruto said in disbelief.

Sasuke would've slapped him for stating the obvious if he were not thinking about voicing the same thing. She had just denied his offer to go to the festival…and accepted that idiot Sai's request to be shown around his first festival.

Suddenly recovering from the shock, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's jacket collar and dragged him off in the direction of the Uchiha estate.

"T-Teme?" Naruto choked, pulling at his collar as he was dragged behind Sasuke, "what the hell?"

"We're going to that festival," he stated, his voice low and gravelly with anger.

Naruto eek'd, "w-why?"

"I'm going to win back Sakura."

xxx

"Oh, oh, Teme!" Naruto pulled on the sleeve of Sasuke's yukata like a small child, "Teme, let's get some onomiyaki! Oh, and some dango! Oh, oh, and—"

"Naruto, we're here for Sakura," he stated firmly, glaring at the blonde, "not to fill your stomach."

"But Teme…" Naruto whined, "I'm hungry…"

"You'll have to wait," his tone was final. "Help me find Sakura."

Naruto groaned loudly, but shut up when Sasuke sent him a deathly glare and helped look for Sakura. She was spotted within ten minutes. With Sai.

Sasuke grit his teeth as he walked up to the pair, "Sakura."

She looked up to her name, and frowned as Sasuke stopped in front of her, "why are you here?"

"Why did you accept his request, but deny my offer?"

"It's a free country; I'll accept whatever I want to accept," she said smugly.

"It's a free country; I'll go to the festival if I want to," he copied, his voice matching the smugness. Sakura scowled.

"Can you at least leave me alone?"

"No," he stated simply.

"And why not?"

"Because I want you to answer my question."

A vein popped in Sakura's forehead, "you know why, because you're a selfish prick who completely ignored me ever since you've gotten back!"

Sasuke stared at her, dumbfounded. She spoke the truth.

"You haven't changed at all!" And with that ringing in his ears, she smashed her takoyaki into the front of his yukata for added effect and stomped off, Sai in hand.

Sasuke stared in shock and watched her leave for the second time today.

"T-Teme?" Naruto broke his shocked state.

"What?"

"Can I get some food now?"

"NO!"

xxx

Not an hour later, Sasuke was back searching for Sakura, donning a clean yukata. Naruto stood next to him, holding his stomach.

"Teme…" he whined, rubbing his stomach to ease the violent growling it was emitting, "please can I get something to eat?"

"Not yet," he mumbled, "find Sakura first."

"What?"

"I said find Sakura first!" he yelled over Naruto's stomach.

Desperate for food, Naruto quickly located Sakura and scurried off to a food stand before Sasuke could protest. Not that he would now that he found what he wanted.

"Sakura!"

Sakura looked up again, her eyes already narrowed, "what do you want now?"

"Sakura," his voice held careful urgency, "I've changed."

Sakura cocked an eyebrow, "I can see that."

Puzzled at how easy she gave in, he hesitated, then realized she thought he was talking about his yukata, "no, no, I mean I've changed. Mentally."

Sakura snorted, unconvinced, "sure."

"Why won't you believe me?"

Sai took this very opportune moment to join Naruto.

Sakura clenched her fists, "I told you, you ignored me for two months."

"Sakura—"

"Two months! And I didn't even get an 'I missed you' or a greeting or anything!" It was then Sasuke realized how much that silence he had given her had hurt. Her voice was calm, but hysteria hinted underneath.

He searched her eyes. She glared back at him with cold anger.

"I…" he choked.

"Yes, Sasuke?" She questioned him, her voice as cold as her eyes, "have something to say?"

"I…I'm s-sorry."

Sakura did a double take. She could not possibly be hearing what she was hearing. Uchihas do not apologize. "I-I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong. What?"

"I said I'm sorry."

Sakura stared at him as if he had spontaneously grown a second head.

"Er…Sakura?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Sasuke?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "very funny Sakura. I told you I've changed, and I'm deadly serious."

Sakura threw him a look of uncertainty, watching his eyes. They didn't waver. Sakura cracked a small smile, "wait until I tell Ino I got an apology from the ice cube."

"So…you forgive me?"

"Of course not!" Sakura stated. And when Sasuke's face fell, added, "But I will, give me time."

Sasuke looked at her for a few minutes and then nodded, "of course."

She smiled, "I think we should go find Naruto."

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Sasuke walked alongside Sakura. "And, Sakura?"

"Hmm?"

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and brought his mouth to her ear, "I missed you a lot."

Sakura smiled, "I missed you too, Sasuke-kun."


	4. D is for Dangerous

A little warning in this one, Naruto is very OOC in here, intelligence-wise. I KNOW he's smarter than this, it was just a joke. Have an open-mind, please, it was only for this one story. Thank you

* * *

D is for Dangerous

Sasuke groaned, and opened his eyes, only to instantly shut them against the blinding white light.

"Awake, are you now?"

Sasuke turned his head to find Tsunade hovering over him, "What happened?"

She smirked, "you tell me."

He blinked in confusion, "what?"

Without warning, it all flooded back.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke looked up as he entered the doorway to find his wife smiling at him, "yes Sakura?"

"Did you happen to tell Naruto he could baby-sit the baby?"

Sasuke froze, "I…I may have…"

Sakura's smile became sweeter, "and did you forget to mention to him that the baby is not born yet?"

"I…I figured he would realize," he said, glancing at her swollen belly.

"Sasuke-kun, this is Naruto we're talking about."

"I didn't think he would be thick enough not to realize."

"And what do you think happened?"

"He…didn't?"

Sakura's smile widened, "no, dear, he didn't."

Sasuke was afraid to ask what he did, "…And?"

Sakura's eyes flashed red with bloodlust as she raised a skillet above her head, "and so I woke up from my nap to find Naruto's ass perched above my stomach."

Sasuke looked at his wife in horror, "he didn't know baby-sitting didn't involve actual sitting?"

"NO!" Sakura screeched and threw the skillet, perfectly aimed for his head. In the final second, Sasuke slipped on something, causing him to swing one leg up into the skillet's path as he smashed his head against the tile, knocking him unconscious…

"…And now I'm here and my leg is broken," he finished lamely.

Silence met him. After a few minutes, he looked up to find Tsunade gaping at him.

"Tsu—"

And she burst out laughing, cutting him off. She laughed for a good ten minutes before she stopped, choking and gasping for air. Sasuke scowled and muttered to himself, "it wasn't that funny…"

He waited for her to catch her breath, but was cut off again before he could speak, "So?"

He stared at her, "so what?"

"What have we learned today?"

He paused.

"Pregnant Kunoichi are more dangerous than Suigetsu with all seven swords."

"Well said."


	5. E is for Escape

E is for Escape

"Left, Sasuke-kun, left!" Sakura yelled at him as he sped towards the next fork.

"Hn," he replied, but didn't obey.

Gritting her teeth, Sakura sped up to match his pace, "will you please just listen to me?"

He glared at her, "what makes you think you're right?"

"Oh, I don't know," Sakura rolled her eyes, "maybe the fact I've done this seven times!"

He grunted, but didn't speak. The fork was approaching rapidly. Thinking fast, Sakura grabbed Sasuke's collar with a chakra-filled hand and yanked him to the left. The sudden jerk surprised him, causing him to trip and barrel into Sakura. They both hit the dirt with a yelp.

"What the fuck was that for, Sakura?" he yelled, his face contorted with anger as he watched the fork seal up behind him.

"I told you to go left and you weren't listening to me!"

"We needed to go right!"

"No, we didn't!"

"Yes, we did!"

She frowned and emitted a noise that sounded close to a growl, "Sasuke-kun."

"What?" his voice was sharp.

"How many times have you done this?"

He paused, "Once…"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Once! This is my first time, okay?"

Sakura smirked, "and how many times have I done it?"

"…Seven…"

"So who do we need to listen to?"

"…"

"Sasuke-kun."

"…You."

"Thank you," she smiled and stood up, dusting her skirt off, "now, let's go."

Grumbling, Sasuke stood up and followed.

"I-I don't understand…" Sakura placed a hand against the wall, "this is where the exit was…"

Behind her, Sasuke smirked, "so you were wrong?"

"Yes," Sakura grumbled, "I was wrong."

Satisfied, Sasuke began backtracking, stopping at the only fork that had not sealed up after they had chosen the path, "I think I found where we messed up."

"Oh?"

"We needed to go right here," he explained, "when we went left."

Glowering at his smirk, Sakura followed him around the corner.

A solid wall met them. Sakura stole the smirk, "Right, huh? Well, I don't see an exit."

Sasuke frowned, "I don't understand…this should be the exit."

Frustrated, Sasuke sat in the dirt, mumbling to himself. Sakura sighed and stood next to him, thinking about where they could've possibly messed up.

Fifteen minutes past.

Thirty.

"Arg, I don't understand where we screwed up!" Sasuke exclaimed, frustration getting the better of him. Sakura backed away.

"Maybe we're missing something."

He turned to glare at her, "like what?"

Sakura shrugged, watching Sasuke turned his back to her, and leaned against the wall. Or, at least, she thought she was going to.

"Ah!" she yelped as she fell through the wall.

Sasuke didn't turn around, "What did you trip or something?"

No answer.

"Sakura, I know you're mad at me, but don't ignore me."

Silence for a few more minutes.

"Fine, of you're going to be silent, then so will I."

Pure silence for a good few seconds.

"Sasuke-kun?"

No reply.

"Sasuke-kun!"

"No, you ignored me, I'm not talking to you."

"Damnit, Sasuke-kun, turn around."

"No."

"Sasuke-kun!"

He whipped his head around, "WHAT?"

Sakura poked her head through the fake wall, "found the exit."

"It…it was a genjutsu?" Sasuke stared, dumbstruck. Seeing that Sasuke was not going to move on his own, Sakura grabbed his wrist and dragged him through the tunnel following the ext.

"Yep."

"I missed that?"

"Yep."

"How could I have missed that?"

"Don't know."

"I don't understand."

"Good for you. Why not just be happy we escaped?"

Sasuke blinked, realization dawning on him, "oh…we escaped."

xxx

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called out, "Sasuke-teme?"

No one answered.

"Hello?"

xxx

Sakura stopped dead.

"What?" Sasuke questioned her, "what's wrong?"

"We left Naruto back in the cell."

"Oh shit."

xxx

"Guys?"


	6. F is for Freedom

F is for Freedom

The sound of a door being smashed in woke Tsunade from her slumber.

"WHAT THE HELL?" She screamed at the intruder.

"Sakura-chan was taken!" Naruto yelled in panic.

"What?" Quick as a whip, Tsunade raised from her desk and grabbed the blonde by his collar. "By who?"

"I don't know!"

"Shit." Tsunade dropped him and clenched her fists. "Shit. Shit. Shit!"

Naruto felt it was a good time to tell her the other half. "Sasuke went after them. Alone."

Silence filled the room as Tsunade stared at him.

Then;

"SHIT!"

xxx

"YOU ASSHOLES! LET ME GO GODDAMNIT!"

"Can we gag her or something?" A man with short brown hair questioned another man with black hair. The black-haired man shook his head.

"With what? How was I supposed to know she would be such a loud-mouthed bitch."

"I'm RIGHT HERE you bastards!" Sakura screamed as close as she could into the man's ear.

"Ow…" he muttered, shifting her to his other shoulder. "Can we knock her out?"

"Don't you dare." Sakura threatened. "If you even try I'll rip off your kunai and shove it where the sun don't shine."

"My…kunai?" The brown-haired man's face scrunched up in confusion for a few moments. Then it hit him. "AAH! HELL NO!" he yelled, tossing a bound Sakura to his partner. "You take her!"

Rolling his eyes, the black-haired man sat her on against a tree. "Now look here, Miss Haruno. We didn't kidnap you to be mean."

Cocking an eyebrow, Sakura stared at him. "So you kidnapped me because we're having a tea party."

"What? No, no. We kidnapped you because we need your help."

"You kidnapped me and you expect me to help you?"

The man blinked and looked over at his partner, whose face held the same look of confusion. "Well…yes."

To further the men's confusion, she burst out laughing. The men stared at her, willing her to stop and explain her outburst. When her laughter subsided, she sighed. "You guys are morons."

Bewildered, the brown-haired man spoke, "Morons? How?"

She rolled her eyes, "why didn't you just simply come up to me and ask. Why did you need to kidnap me?"

"Because Boss said to."

"And you didn't question him?"

"Of course not."

"That's it." Sakura said, standing up and shrugging off her bindings, leaving the men stunned. "Fun and games are over."

"H-How did you manage to get out of those?"

She shrugged, "Wasn't hard. You didn't tie them very tighty."

The black-haired man glared at the brown-haired man, who grinned sheepishly. "I told you to tie them as tight as you could!"

"I didn't want to hurt her…"

The black-haired man groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wonderful. So you're just going to leave and go back to your village now?"

"Of course not." Sakura replied defiantly, causing both the men to look at her. "I want a word with this boss of yours."

They both continued to look at her, speechless. She then decided to take charge.

"Now." She said sternly, glaring both of them down.

"Y-yes ma'am…"

xxx

Sasuke growled. He had been right there, _right there_ when the two goons grabbed Sakura and took off with her. So, naturally, he had no choice but to follow.

Now, as he ran through the mass acres of forest surrounding Konohagakure, he swore to himself at his lack of navigation. He could have _sworn_ he saw them pass right by here… so where were they?

"YOU ASSHOLES! LET ME GO GODDAMNIT!"

Oh, there they are.

Sasuke jumped to a tree nearby the clearing, watching as a man sat Sakura against a tree. Sasuke frowned. _'There's no way those bindings could keep anyone bound…' _he thought. _'So why is she just sitting there?'_

He watched curiously as they exchanged words and as Sakura stood up, the bindings falling from her shoulders. Realization of what she was planning dawned on him as he saw her green eyes flicker up to his for the barest of moments. Staying a good amount behind her and the goons, he followed her deeper into the forest.

xxx

"Just a little farther, Miss Haruno." One of the men informed Sakura. She nodded curtly, planning on having a short conversation with this boss person, help them with their problem, and then be back in time for dinner.

At least, that was her plan, until she found herself falling from the tree she had just leaped from, blackness engulfing her like a blanket.

xxx

"Shit…shit, shit, SHIT!" Sasuke cursed loudly. One second Sakura's pink head was within his sight, the next she was lost in a sudden plume of black fumes.

Standing directly outside the edge of the wall of black, Sasuke searched, looking for any weak point, any small place where he might be able to look in and possibly spot what lay beneath the dark mass. Unfortunately, nothing gave way, and Sasuke found himself taking a deep breath and diving head-first into the blackness.

His feet found solid earth, but in an instant he was grabbed from behind. Twisting himself, he brought up his heel and jammed it into the person's side, causing them to yelp in pain and release him. Instantly, another took their place, followed by two others, until Sasuke found he could not move and inch. Finally, the smoke began to clear.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" A booming voice echoed. "The last of the Uchiha brood, eh?"

Sasuke glared in the general direction of the voice, until the smoke had cleared enough to reveal a hulking man thrice Sasuke's size, towering over him. Resisting the urge to gulp, Sasuke glared up at the huge man. The man smirked

"Defiant, are we now?" He asked Sasuke, who didn't answer. "What are you doing, following the pathetic Kunoichi, hmm?"

Still refusing to answer, Sasuke simply gazed at him, until he spotted a pink shape out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head sharply in the direction, he spotted Sakura slumped in the arms of one of the goons. Sasuke turned his gaze back to the huge man, emitting a low, menacing growl. The man reacted.

"Oh, hit a sore spot have we?" The man smirked, "My name's Takeshi, and I'm the leader of these men. And she," he gestured over to Sakura with a flourish of his meaty hand, "is to be my mistress."

Shock overtook Sasuke, but he dared not show it. The man watched him carefully, but Sasuke stayed calm, betraying the twisting of his gut. "No reaction? Hmm."

Takeshi stroked the stubble on his chin thoughtfully.

"Alright then," Takeshi began after a few moments. Sasuke felt his entire body tense up as Takeshi gazed from him to Sakura.

"She dies."

"NO!"

In an instant, Sasuke's rage took over, causing him to release a surge of chakra, knocking the men holding him away. Taking no more than a fraction of a second to react, Sasuke rushed forward, drawing his kunai and taking swift aim at Takeshi's throat. But he was not fast enough, for Takeshi had moved just enough for the tip of the kunai to do no more than graze his shoulder.

But it was enough.

Sasuke watched in satisfaction as the man laughed heartily one second, and collapsed in a heap the next. "W-what? I-I can't move!"

Takeshi's eyes stared up at Sasuke, who now loomed over him. Desperately, he cried for his men. "It's no use." Sasuke told him. "They're gone."

Sakura stirred for a moment, her eyes fluttering as voices drifted over her.

"I will not kill you." Sasuke, she realized. "Not this time anyway. Try this again, however, and I will not spare you a moment."

A deeper voice then spoke. One Sakura did not recognize. "Young man, why do you risk your life for a lowly female?"

A pause. Sakura felt herself loosing consciousness.

"Because…" Sasuke broke off.

Sakura felt her senses leaving her as his voice became softer.

"Because I love her."

xxx

"SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!"

"Oi, Naruto, my head still hurts!" Sakura yelled at her blonde teammate, knocking him on the head with her fist.

Naruto grinned sheepishly, "I'm sorry Sakura-chan."

Mumbling to herself, Sakura flopped back against her hospital bed. "Why won't they let me out of here?"

"Just a little longer, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, "And then we can all go get ramen! Sasuke's treat, ne, Sasuke?"

Sasuke, who had been minding his own business, glared at his teammate. "Hn."

"See, he totally agrees!"

"Naruto, why don't you go get us all something to eat." Sakura suggested, before Sasuke got a chance to strangle him.

"Oh, good idea. I could use some ramen, I'm starving." Naruto said, standing up and waving as he walked out the door, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone.

"Maybe you should go make sure he doesn't get us all ramen…" Sakura said, a sweatdrop rolling down her forehead.

Sasuke looked at her and nodded, then stood up and made his way towards the door.

"Oh, and Sasuke-kun?" He stopped, turning to face Sakura.

"Hn?"

"I love you too."


	7. G is for Gullible

G is for Gullible

"Naruto, no," Sakura clutched her head as she explained for the seventh time to her teammate that black cats are not, in fact, bad luck what-so-ever.

"But…are you sure, Sakura-chan?" Naruto bit his thumb nervously, "I've been having a pretty bad day since that one cat walked in front of me this morning.

Sakura groaned and turned away from him.

Sasuke snorted, "you're so gullible, Dobe."

"Shut the hell up Teme!"

"Both of you!"

Naruto cringed under the wrath of their female teammate, while Sasuke looked on idly, "Yes ma'am."

"I'm going home," she declared and walked off without another word.

Naruto nodded and scurried off too; leaving Sasuke with the oblivious porn-reading man next to him he liked to call his Sensei.

He glanced up at the silver-haired man, "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes Sasuke?" He didn't even glance up.

"About the black cat…"

The hesitation in Sasuke's voice made Kakashi glance up. He found his student glancing down at the ground repeatedly, his mouth pursed. Kakashi pushed.

"What about it?"

"Are…" he hesitated again. "Are they really bad luck?"

A scheme instantly formed itself in mere seconds beneath Kakashi's silver hair, "actually, I do believe in bad luck brought on by black cats."

Sasuke's head shot up, "one crossed my path today too."

"Well," Kakashi tapped his chin, "you might want to counter that before the bad luck starts wrecking havoc on you."

Sasuke blinked black irises, "how do I do that?"

"Why, you kiss a pink-haired girl, of course," he said with a chuckle. "They're extremely lucky, you know."

Dumbstruck, Sasuke stared up at his Sensei.

"No…no. I don't think I have to go to those measures. It was only one cat."

"Suit yourself," Kakashi shrugged. "Well, I'm off. See you tomorrow."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind an out-of-the-ordinarily nervous student.

xxx

Sasuke walked down the streets, Kakashi's words echoing in his head.

"He couldn't be right…" he muttered to himself. "I can't be like Naruto and believe this, what am I thinking?"

He sighed and nodded to himself, looking up. It was only then he realized he had been given a very odd look from the man walking alongside him. Sasuke blinked an acknowledgment. The man's odd look turned to a dirty one.

"How dare you! Insufferable Uchiha boy!"

"…Hn?" Sasuke blinked, confused.

"First I find you walking alone, so I decide to walk with you, then you start talking to yourself, and then you glare at me!" The man scowled at Sasuke, "no manners at all."

The man walked off, leaving a stunned Sasuke in his wake.

Sasuke's mouth opened, closed, and opened again, "…What?"

xxx

Sasuke grumbled to himself as he dug through his pocket for his key. Several minutes passed, but no key was found. Groaning, Sasuke realized he must've left it on the counter when he left for that morning.

He rubbed his temples, how could he forget something like that? He never forgot these things!

The image of the black cat crossed his mind again and he quickly pushed it away.

Sighing, he turned on his heel and made way for the back window, which he kept unlocked. Not a very safe thing to do, but in this moment, he was very grateful for his own carelessness.

Sliding the window up, he climbed through. One leg slid in, the other following with a loud ripping noise. Sasuke's mouth dropped open.

"You have got to be joking!"

Sure enough, a long tear in the white fabric turned one of his pant legs into a mere sheet no longer resembling what it was moments ago.

Grumbling louder, Sasuke changed his shorts and made his way into his kitchen. A small note caught his attention.

_Teme-_

_ Cleaned out your fridge! Hope you don't mind, I was hungry and out of food._

_ Knew you wouldn't._

_ -Naruto_

_P.S. Why all the tomatoes?_

It was a rare and amazing sight, if you were watching the Uchiha after he had finished reading the note, for he was shaking uncontrollably and his face was red from the exertion of keeping himself from screaming. Apparently, not even his self-control was enough.

A long and colorful stream of obscenities flowed freely from Sasuke's mouth in a not-so-inside voice. One might be amazed with the combinations a 16-year-old can come up with.

Huffing, Sasuke finished with a less-than-polite 'motherfucking Dobe' and made his way back out the door, grabbing his keys along the way. Little did he know, that would be the worst possible action he could've done.

xxx

Sakura walked down the streets carrying a small box, destined for Ino. Not thinking about anything in particular, she strolled idly down the somewhat empty streets, giving passerby greetings when necessary. It was getting close to dusk, and everything glowed with a purplish light.

Even the figure running at mach-speed in her direction.

She didn't have time to react before her shoulders were caught in a vice grip, causing her to drop the box, and wild, black irises met her green ones.

"S-Sasuke-kun? What's wrong?"

She never got her answer. Sasuke had crushed him mouth against hers in a desperate attempt. Though the attempt at what wasn't clear to Sakura yet.

After a few moments, he released her, visibly more relaxed. Sakura took the moment to pounce.

"Sasuke-kun, don't get me wrong, that was nice, but," Sakura took a deep breath, "WHAT THE FUCK?"

If Sasuke was at all intimidated by being yelled in the face, he didn't show it. He simply told Sakura the whole story, including every mishap he came across that day.

"…And then an old lady hit me in the groin and Kakashi-sensei said the only way to get rid of my bad luck was to kiss a pink-haired girl, and you're the only one I know!"

Sakura blinked. Twice. And promptly fell to the ground with laughter. Sasuke waited for her to finished, then gave her a bewildered look when she pulled herself together.

"S-Sasuke-kun," she said, still giggling, "Kakashi-sensei lied to you."

Sasuke stared in shock at his teammate. His mouth hung open, but he couldn't get any words to form.

Sakura smiled and patted him on the back, "wow, Sasuke-kun, I had no idea you were like this."

"…What?"

"You're more gullible than Naruto!"

Sasuke blinked in shock for a few seconds, his mouth hanging open. Sakura giggled and shut his mouth with a finger to his chin, before walking off.

Sasuke's cheeks turned pink as realization of what had happened washed over him. Then, Sakura's words jumped in. He was gullible. So very gullible.

"…Fuck."


	8. H is for Hugs

H is for Hugs

"I can't believe we're stuck doing a D-rank mission." Naruto grumbled. "I can't even remember the last D-rank we had to do."

Sakura sighed, "You know we have to start over again. It's either that, or..."

She trailed off and glanced at the person behind her. Naruto looked too, then looked at Sakura. "Right. Gotta do it for the team."

Sakura nodded, slowing a bit so that she matched pace with Sasuke. "Just a few more, and then we get to rank up, right Sasuke-kun?"

He didn't look up, nor did he answer, only followed along, fingering the chakra-sucking bracelet they'd slapped on his wrist after he'd been dragged back to Konoha. Sakura sighed again and, realizing this was going nowhere, sped back up to Naruto and Sai.

It was going to be a long day.

xxx

"Sakura-san, Miko has my toy!"

"Miko-kun, give Risu-chan back her toy please."

"No!"

Sakura huffed, shifted the baby she was holding to her other hip, and glared at the three men lounging on the couch, being utterly useless.

"Going to help me anytime soon?" She questioned them.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, I believe in your babysitting tactics." Naruto smiled at her, lifting hit foot as a toddler crawled by. "Besides, D-rank mission, anyone can do it, you don't need help."

Growling, Sakura looked at Sai. "And what's your excuse?"

He shrugged, "You told me when we were assigned the mission to sit and look pretty the whole time." His eyes flicked to the far right of the couch, "Though I can't seem to manage it as well as Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke glared at him, but made no attempt at a retort. Rolling her eyes, Sakura beckoned Sai. "All right, what I said earlier is now invalid since I apparently have lazy sacks for teammates."

"Hey, that's not very nice, Sakura-chan." Naruto pouted.

"Start helping me and I'll be nicer." She said, then to Sai, who had gotten off the couch and was now next to her. "Do you know how to hold a baby?"

Sai blinked. "There's a special way?"

Sakura groaned, "Okay, never mind, go play with Yousuke. Naruto, come here and hold Takashi, please."

Moaning dramatically as he got to his feet, Naruto obliged. Sakura handed him the baby and led him over to a play mat covered with soft blocks and other colorful baby toys. "Play with him."

"Aye aye, captain. OH! There's an orange one!"

Rolling her eyes, she walked back to the couch where the last "lazy sack" sat. "Alright, Sasuke-kun, since you most likely haven't had much experience with children in the last few years, I'm assigning you the twins."

He stared at her through half-lidded eyes for a few moments before picking himself off the couch and walking to where the twins were seated on the ground. Satisfied that everyone was being looked after, Sakura went to the kitchen to make lunch.

Xxx

She had only gotten the ramen broth on the stovetop when it started.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura-san!"

"Ugly…"

"Sakura-chan, you have to see this!"

"Sakura-saaaaaan!"

"Ugly…"

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

"SAKURA-SAN!"

"…Uh oh. Ugly…"

Bursting into the living room, Sakura screamed, "WHAT?"

Silence met her. And then…

"SAKURA-CHAN! Look what the baby is doing!"

"Sakura-san, Sasuke-san won't hug me!"

"Um, Ugly, the toddler is turning blue."

Hearing Sai, Sakura ran over to him, "BLUE?"

And, sure enough, the toddler was a multitude of colors, but a large spot of blue was slowly engulfing the others. Grounding her teeth, Sakura turned to Sai.

"Sai…"

"Yes?"

"Did you paint the baby?"

"I thought he was a toddler."

"Answer the question, Sai."

"Yes, I did."

"Why…" Sakura started, releasing a slow breath through her clenched teeth. "…did you paint him?"

"He was crawling to everything that had a bright color, so I thought I'd paint him so he could save energy." Sai explained simply.

"Okay. And why is he changing colors?"

"They react to chakra. Normally they stay a single color, but I guess he doesn't have full chakra control yet."

"Sai," Sakura said slowly, "he's two."

"So?"

"Never mind," Sakura waved her hand dismissively and started on the next task at hand, only after firmly telling Sai not to use anymore ninja items on the toddler. "Okay, who else was calling me?"

"Me, Sakura-chan! Me!"

"Me too, Sakura-san!"

Feeling Naruto could probably (and this is only a "probably") contain himself longer than the six-year-old, Sakura moved to the child first.

"Alright, Risu-chan, what's the problem?" She inquired the girl, who was standing next to a bored-looking Sasuke with her arms crossed and her lips in a full-on pout that would probably win her many things later in life. Her twin brother sat on the ground, yawning and scratching his stomach. Obviously, this was only Risu's problem.

"Sasuke-san won't hug me!" The girl cried, pointing a finger at the older boy. "We're playing 'house' and I'm the mommy, Sasuke-san is the daddy, and Miko is the baby—"

"Not willingly!" Miko cut in defiantly.

"But!" Risu started again as if her brother hadn't said anything, "Sasuke-san won't hug me! And daddys _always_ hug mommys, or they're not in love!"

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura began with a sigh, "Please just give her a hug. That's all she wants."

"No. That's not what parents do when they're in love." He replied gruffly.

Sakura cocked an eyebrow, "Oh? And you've been married before?"

"Well… no. But I've had conversations when I was … away. And _hugging_ is not what newly-weds do on their wedding night. I will not agree to false information." He crossed his arms with a sense of finality.

"Well then, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smirked, "Would you like to explain to these two six-year-olds what real mommy and daddys do?"

Pink tinged his cheeks as he realized what she was inquiring. Turning his head to the side, he murmured, "No, I don't think that would be appropriate."

"Then shut up and hug her."

Pausing for a few moments, Sasuke bent down slowly and held up his arms half-heartedly to the little girl. She did not, however, move in for the hug.

"I've changed my mind. I want Sakura-san to be the mommy." She stated firmly. "Hug _her._"

Dropping his arms to the side, Sasuke stood up abruptly. "No."

And then, Risu started wailing.

"Oh, for the love of—" Sakura, with the aid of her super-strength, grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and whipped him around, wrapping her arms around his torso to stop his turning once he faced her.

"There, happy?" She asked.

"No! He has to hug you _back_!"

Grinding her teeth, Sakura looked up at Sasuke, and stopped cold.

Was he ... _blushing?_

And, all on his own, Sasuke lifted his arms and encircled her waist, pulling her to him in an embrace much tighter than the one she was giving him. Bewildered, and a tad shocked, Sakura took a few moments before tightening her own embrace, tucking her head under his so she wouldn't knock him in the chin, and she found herself seriously, _honest-to-goodness_, hugging Sasuke.

Never thought that would happen.

They continued the hug until Risu ceased her wailing, and then some. Until a faint burning smell entered the room.

"Ugly, something is burning."

Ripping herself away from Sasuke with enough force to knock him to the ground, Sakura screeched "the broth!" before high-tailing it back into the kitchen.

xxx

"Well, that was eventful" Sakura mused as she and her teammates walked back from their mission.

Naruto pouted, "I never got to show you what the baby was doing. He could kick those blocks really high in the air. It was pretty cool."

"I'm sure it was, Naruto."

The four of them walked in silence, up until the road split and they had to take their respective ways. They paused, turning to one-another.

"Bye guys, see you tomorrow." Sakura said with a wave, turning to leave.

"Bye, Sakura-chan!"

"Bye, Ugly."

"Sakura…"

Stopping, Sakura looked at Sasuke. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"C-can I…" He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and Sakura realized he was blushing again. "Can I have another … h-hug?"

Shocked, Sakura and Naruto stared at him. Sai, not understanding the situation, merely looked. Realizing that they were all looking at him in one way or another, Sasuke turned with a jerk, "N-never mind!"

Recovering, Sakura lunged forward, catching Sasuke around the waist before he could get anywhere. "No! I'm sorry, I was just a little surprised, is all."

By now, Sasuke's face had turned as red as a tomato. He shook his head, not returning the embrace. "I said never mind, let me go, Sakura."

"No."

Sasuke turned and blinked at her. She had never spoken to him with such force before. She stared defiantly up at him, her arms in a tight circle around his waist. Realizing she wasn't about to let him go, he raised his arms slowly and hugged her back, raising his hand to her head and gently pressuring it to lay in the crook of his neck. She didn't resist. It was then Sasuke realized how warm he felt.

And he realized…

He liked this.

_A lot._

Not moving an inch, Sasuke spoke, "Do you think … we could maybe do this more often?"

Resisting another onset of shock, Sakura smiled, "Of course, Sasuke-kun. Of course."

Sasuke let himself a small smile at this. "Sakura…"

Sakura raised her head a tad, listening.

"Thank you."

Xxx

"SAKURA-CHAN! IF HE GETS A HUG, I WANT ONE TOO! SAKURA-CHAAAN!" Naruto cried as he watched Sasuke and Sakura embrace.

"I'll hug you," Sai offered, holding his hands out to Naruto.

"Ew, hell no, Sai."

But—"

"No, Sai. Just no."


	9. I is for Incredible

I is for Incredible

Sakura shifted slightly from her crouched position beneath the bushes and pressed the button on her headset.

"I don't see them over at this side," she whispered.

"Not over here, either," Naruto replied.

"They've managed to hide themselves well this time," Sai mused. "Don't you think so, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura sweatdropped, "Sai, he's never done this before, so how on earth would he know?"

"Sakura-chan has a point. Where are you anyway, Teme?"

The three waited for a few moments for their fourth member to reply, but none came.

"Maybe his microphone isn't working."

Naruto snorted disdainfully, "Or maybe he's just –"

_Swish. _"Hurk!" _THUMP._

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

"What happened?" Naruto yelled frantically into the mike. "Sakura-chan? Answer me! I'm heading over to your location!"

Sakura ignored the blaring of Naruto's voice in her ear as she stared at the person lying semi-paralyzed beneath her. Swiftly reaching her hand up, she switched her mike to off.

"Alright, they can't hear us. Now, Sasuke-kun," she addressed the person below her, "mind telling me why you were watching me instead of sticking to the drill? I know it's your first time, but you're not stupid."

His face being a part of him that wasn't paralyzed, he looked up at her, disinterest making up his expression, "Release the jutsu."

"Answer my question and I'll release you."

His eye twitched, "There is no reason. Now let me go."

"You're lying," Sakura told him, leaning down so that her face was directly in front of his. "Did you think I couldn't do this? That I'd be too weak and untrained to fend them off if they had found me before Naruto, Sai, or you?"

Her voice got a little louder and he looked away as she had finished speaking, not saying anything himself. Realizing she was going to get nowhere with him fast, and they still had to finish their drill, she sighed and brought a fingertip to his neck.

"Fine, have it your way," she muttered as she released the jutsu, then quickly shifted so she was no longer pinning him down. Free from the paralyzing jutsu, Sasuke sat up, his back facing Sakura.

"Just so you know, Sasuke-kun," Sakura began again in a whisper, "I'm a lot stronger than I used to be. I don't mess things up like I used to, and –"

"I know," Sasuke murmured sharply, cutting her off. Sakura quieted as he continued, "I know you have. That's why..."

He paused, hunching over slightly. Sakura could see the tips of his ears turning pink from where they poked out from beneath his raven-black hair. He began again, "That's why I was watching you. You've always been so smart, and now you have amazing strength ... well..."

He paused again. Turning slightly, he looked her in the eyes and Sakura could see his cheeks tinged the same deep pink that his ears were.

"You're incredible, Sakura."

She stared at him blankly for a few moments before her face turned pink like his and a small smile formed on her lips. And then, of course, Naruto came bursting through the foliage, knocking Sasuke face-first into the dirt in his haste to check on Sakura.

"Sakura-chan! You weren't answering on the mike, I thought something had happened!" he exclaimed, then turned around and pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke, who was wiping dirt off his cheek. "And you didn't answer anyone even once!"

Laughing, Sakura stood up, "Alright, well, now that you've found us, let's get back to the drill." Quickly giving Sasuke another smile, Sakura ran off into the underbrush, leaving the two boys behind.

"What was that smile for?" Naruto asked, confused.

"You're so stupid sometimes, Dobe," Sasuke scoffed, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Shut up, Teme!"

Plugging his ear against Naruto's loudness, Sasuke turned away from him to the opposite direction Sakura had gone in to throw Naruto off. Smiling to himself, cheeks turning slightly pink again, he left Naruto behind to contemplate his and Sakura's smiles on his own.

He had to find Sakura again, of course.


End file.
